BYPASSING HISTORY: HISTORIC HOME THREATENED BY HIGHWAY 34 ALTERNATE

~Correction: Construction of the house was begun by Charles Guile Juden Jr., NOT Andrew Juden as is stated here. Information on the history of Vandergrafs' home can be obtained through Jeanette and Andy Juden.

Rob and Sherry Vaandergraf are just starting the paperwork to have their home put on the National Register of Historic Places.

But the Vaandergrafs are worried that the Missouri Department of Transportation plans for a new highway might threaten their old house.

The Vaandergrafs aren't alone in their concern. They are among seven families in the Briarwood Estates Subdivision whose homes on Wolf Lane could be impacted if the state opts to take the southernmost route for a Highway 34 bypass.

The subdivision, in a wooded area off Bloomfield Road at the western edge of the city limits, is split between the city and unincorporated Cape Girardeau County.

Briarwood Estates residents say many people in Cape Girardeau don't even know where their subdivision is.

But if Alternative 9 is chosen, they say, county residents will be driving through it.

Alternative 9, also referred to as Segment T, dips south from Route K to tie into the Interstate 55-Highway 74 interchange.

That southward dip could mean tearing down some or all of the houses on Wolf Lane, and several in the surrounding area, subdivision residents say.

"What bothers me is there would be so many houses destroyed," said Lorene Wood.

Mark Mueller says local and state officials need to think about the impact Alternative 9 and the other southern routes would have on the area's historic resources.

The Vaandergrafs' home is part of the old Juden estate. Dr. Andrew Juden started construction of the Dutch colonial-style home in 1904 when he married the daughter of Louis Houck.

"Our deeds go all the way back," Rob Vaandergraf said, adding that a neighbor's property includes a cemetery dating back to the Civil War.

Another of the southern routes would impact Elmwood, the old Louis Houck estate, Mueller said.

"We all think it would be a crying shame for the historical foundation that the city of Cape Girardeau was built on to be, for development's sake, just torn up and tossed away," he said.

And there are other problems, Briarwood Estates residents say.

Mueller says Alternative 9 won't do what the state wants -- ease existing traffic congestion.

And it's too long -- more than 13 miles -- and too expensive, with an estimated price tag of $82 million, Mueller said.

All of those factors are listed by MoDOT as the disadvantages of choosing Alternative 9 for the new bypass.

Briarwood Estates residents feel like they're caught between a rock and a hard place. If the Highway 34 bypass doesn't come through their subdivision, there's always the chance that another new highway will -- the planned improvement of Highway 25 from its junction with Highway 72 north of Chaffee to Interstate 55 south of Cape Girardeau.

"We're not against the highway department," said John Heisserer, adding residents don't want to halt growth in the area.

"There is certainly a more intelligent way to accomplish what it is they want to accomplish," he said. "This particular segment of their plan won't accomplish it."

"We were here first," said Rob Vandergraaf.

Subdivision residents have already contacted city and county officials to voice their concerns, and they've been in contact with MoDOT to let them know they oppose Alternative 9.

DawnRae Clark, project manager for MoDOT, said the state will take their concerns into consideration.

The state routinely surveys road corridors to see if construction will impact historic properties, Clark said.

"That's just one of the things we look at, in combination with all of the other issues that we need to address," she said.

The state is looking for a way to ease traffic on Highway 34 through Jackson and Cape Girardeau. All of the alternatives under study start at the junction of Highways 34 and 72 west of Jackson and end at the I-55-Highway 74 intersection.

Some follow stretches of U.S. 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, some swing south of both cities to tie into Route K.

MoDOT is still studying its options and expects to announce where the Highway 34 bypass will go this fall. Construction of the new highway won't start before 2002 at the earliest.

"It's still too early to tell" which alternative the state will choose, Clark said.

"We still need to refine our assessments of impacts and look at those in more detail before we can say decide on an alternative," she said. "I can say that if Alternative 9, the longest, next most expensive route, were chosen, then we would have to sit down with the cities and the county and the regional planning commissions and say, `This costs X many dollars; how is this going to fit into our regional needs?' and prioritize where we're going to spend the money and in what order. That may make a difference in what the cities and county endorse as well."

So far, none of the alternatives have been endorsed, and there's no consensus among Jackson, Cape Girardeau and county officials on which route would be best, say Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III and Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones.

"It'll be worked out, and it'll be worked out in a way that will make everybody happy," Jones said.

"We're working with the state at this point trying to get the best route available, taking into consideration the impact on Wolf Lane and all the other areas," Spradling said.

MoDOT will meet with officials from both cities and the county on June 23 to discuss the alternatives.

At that meeting, Spradling said, local officials will present some "other alternative routes" for MoDOT to consider for the bypass project.

Cost estimates for the bypass range from $22 million to $89 million.